Time is an important factor in a network since the operation of the network may depend upon the devices on the network having time that is correct and synchronized with the other devices on the network. In many networks time information is shared between devices. In these networks, if one of the devices interjects incorrect time into the network, the operation of the network may degrade or even fail.
To protect a network from propagating incorrect time interjected by a device, network devices may be configured by default to reject any time information received from a device that is not part of the network. This may create a problem for a device that requires time information for configuration. Since the device may not be able to join the network until it is configured, and the device cannot obtain time information until it joins the network, there is a need to provide time information to a device so that it can be configured, but to prevent the network from propagating potentially incorrect time information through the network.